THREAD: Lots of us learned classical music from watching old cartoons, so I’m going to identify the pieces that frequently popped up.

One of the most recognizable is Franz Liszt’s “Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2,” performed by those great piano virtuosos Bugs Bunny and Tom & Jerry. pic.twitter.com/SmyKbMpw3e

— Vincent Alexander (@NonsenseIsland) March 1, 2021

A CORNY CONCERTO, Bob Clampett’s hilarious spoof of Disney’s FANTASIA, brilliantly sets a violent Bugs Bunny chase to Johann Strauss’s peaceful “Tales from the Vienna Woods.” You can make any classical piece better by adding the “b-b-b-b-b” noise. pic.twitter.com/QxHovunpUM

— Vincent Alexander (@NonsenseIsland) March 1, 2021

Franz von Suppé got quite a workout in classic cartoons. “The Poet and Peasant Overture” shows up in dozens of shorts. My favorite is Popeye conducting the “Spinach Overture” while giving Bluto a rhythmic beatdown perfectly in time with the music. pic.twitter.com/6dAr7cgHrC

— Vincent Alexander (@NonsenseIsland) March 1, 2021

You may not know Franz Schubert’s “Der Erlkönig” by name, you’ll know it when you hear it, thanks to Looney Tunes cartoons. It was written about a supernatural king of the fairies, but WB composer Carl Stalling would always pull it out to underscore a villain’s entrance. pic.twitter.com/BBLcZG04eE

— Vincent Alexander (@NonsenseIsland) March 1, 2021

The surest way to get a cartoon character to fall asleep is to sing them "Brahms' Lullaby." Also be sure to throw the phrase "close your big bloodshot eyes" in there somewhere. pic.twitter.com/dR8KSnmRav

— Vincent Alexander (@NonsenseIsland) March 1, 2021

French composer François-Joseph Gossec was influential in his era, but isn't terribly well-known today. But I think you might recognize his "Gavotte," which was used to underscore something pleasant or dainty (usually ironically) in Warner Bros. cartoons. pic.twitter.com/WI601SpKiD

— Vincent Alexander (@NonsenseIsland) March 1, 2021

A Mendelssohn piece that you hear constantly in classic cartoons, and even more recent ones like REN & STIMPY and SPONGEBOB, is "Frühlingslied (Spring Song)," which is used to denote peace and tranquility. This is my favorite instance, from the first Ralph Wolf-Sam Sheepdog film. pic.twitter.com/XJjup7nWU7

— Vincent Alexander (@NonsenseIsland) March 1, 2021

It's strange to be intimately familiar with a piece of music without ever actually knowing what it is. This piece is called "Sextet from Lucia di Lammermoor" by Gaetano Donizetti, but to me it will be "the one where Bugs Bunny ruins that guy's opera." pic.twitter.com/hb7P5IcmqH

— Vincent Alexander (@NonsenseIsland) March 1, 2021

Strauss must be the #1 composer among cartoonists, because he sure shows up a lot. The Oscar-winning Tom & Jerry short JOHANN MOUSE is even named after him. Here are just a few different Strauss pieces that have made their way into animated shorts: pic.twitter.com/HcyPL9flqP

— Vincent Alexander (@NonsenseIsland) March 1, 2021

(I should add as a bit of shameless self-promotion that I used Beethoven's "Adagio Cantabile" from "Sonata Pathétique No. 8, op. 13" in my cartoon MUSICAL MAN AND THE MAGIC KAZOO.) pic.twitter.com/yfT0kV9Twd

— Vincent Alexander (@NonsenseIsland) March 1, 2021

Beethoven's Fifth was used in World War II cartoons for a very specific reason: the Morse Code for "V" is dot-dot-dot-dash, and so the similar motif from the Beethoven piece symbolized "V for Victory" to wartime audiences. pic.twitter.com/lzigsdTCsf

— Vincent Alexander (@NonsenseIsland) March 1, 2021

Disney is associated with wholesome family entertainment nowadays, but the studio’s earliest Silly Symphonies focused on dancing skeletons and demons cavorting in the fiery pit of Hell, backed up by macabre melodies from Norwegian composer Edvard Grieg. pic.twitter.com/ega0CkHyJU

— Vincent Alexander (@NonsenseIsland) March 1, 2021

German/Jewish composer Leon Jessel was killed by the Nazis and they tried to suppress his work, but his legacy has survived, partly thanks to cartoons. His "Parade of the Wooden Soldiers" is a classic, and there was an entire Betty Boop cartoon formed around the piece in 1933. pic.twitter.com/RneTnWK9UK

— Vincent Alexander (@NonsenseIsland) March 1, 2021